1. Technical Field
The present invention relates, generally, to heat transfer systems and, more particularly, to a method of managing thermal transients through the use of phase-change heat reservoirs.
2. Background Information
Recent advances in the design and fabrication of electronic components has dramatically increased their speed and density but has, at the same time, led to significant challenges for thermal engineers seeking to provide heat-transfer solutions for such components. These heat transfer challenges are particularly severe in applications subject to transient heat generation.
Currently known methods of addressing transient heat generation are undesirable in a number of respects. For example, when confronted by thermal requirements of a system, thermal engineers will typically select the maximum heat load in the transient heat profile as the guideline for designing the thermal solution. This “worst-case-scenario” practice invariably results in an unnecessarily large heat sink or cooler that is not used to its full capacity during normal operation.
Furthermore, if there is a space constraint for the overall system which does not allow the full required space for a traditional thermal solution, then the engineer must increase the cooling airflow (through the use of fans or other forced convection devices) and/or use other means to improve performance. This can result in increased noise and other undesirable effects.
While the prior art makes limited use of phase change materials to store transient thermal energy, such solutions effectively utilize large heat-sinks having an integral phase-change chamber which is simply attached to the heat source. This solution fails to address, among other things, the space constraints presented by modem systems.
Methods are therefore needed in order to overcome these and other limitations of the prior art.